Nomophobia and Its Consequences: An Experimental Study to Measure the Experiences of Museum Visitors

Experience is all the knowledge and skills acquired through activity. This knowledge and skills are also reflected in the consumption activities that are essential to people’s daily lives. Museums are also important institutions for visitors to experience. With the development of technology, the use of smartphones has become widespread, and the transactions performed with smartphones have diversified. Over time, the use rate of smartphones and users’ addiction level to smartphones have begun to increase. This situation has revealed a new type of phobia, which is mentioned in the literature as “nomophobia.” Nomophobia and being without a mobile phone can affect many experiences in people’s daily lives, travels, and jobs, both positively and negatively. Nomophobia also affects people’s anxiety levels. The aim of this experimental study is to determine whether there is any difference between the museum visitors’ museum experiences with and without a mobile telephone. Data were collected from 90 visitors who visited the Eskisehir Chamber of Commerce Museum in Türkiye. Visitors were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group was intervened by taking away their mobile phones. Then, the museum experiences of the experimental and control group members were then measured and analyzed using a paired sample T-test. The results show that there was no significant difference between the museum experiences (education, escape, entertainment, and esthetics) of those who visited the museum with and without a mobile phone. It is thought that this result is due to the short duration of the museum tour, or it could be that the fact that visitors are aware that their mobile phones will be taken away after full information in advance is not a cause of nomophobia.